Fred's Announcement Details

--September 6, 2007.--Via webcast. --Then onto a tour of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, followed by a stop in Tennessee.--He's skipping the next New Hampshire Republican debate on the 5th. I kind of predicted it.

How can Fred Thompson best manage financial expectations when he gets in the race? One smart Republican election lawyer describes a scenario that extends his roll-out over several months, giving him a nice, long pad before he's forced to disclose his personal finances.

Remember, Sen. Thompson is an original co-sponsor of McCain-Feingold and would therefore not need any incentive to act in the spirit of transparency and disclosure that federal election law fosters.

Or, he could:

On Sept. 6, announce his intent to run,

On Sept. 21, open his candidate committee with the Federal Election Commission -- he has 15 days from the start of federal activities.

On Oct. 1, Thompson’s statement of organization would be due, which makes the whole thing official.

This means that Thompson would not have to file his first FEC report until January, and he'd be required to file his personal financial disclosure forms in early October, unless he gets extensions -- Mitt Romney's already gotten two of them.

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Marc Ambinder is a contributing editor at TheAtlantic. He is also a senior contributor at Defense One, a contributing editor at GQ, and a regular contributor at The Week.